Rochester’s chocolate scene spans century-old candy traditions and a new generation of artisan chocolatiers pushing flavor boundaries while remaining rooted in local ingredients and community values. Whether you seek the city’s best sponge candy or handcrafted truffles and vegan bark, Rochester offers a distinctly sweet experience shaped by its culinary heritage and creative spirit. Chocolatiers share a commitment to local sourcing, balance innovation with tradition, and maintain a strong sense of community.
Classic Confections, Enduring Favorites
Andy’s Candies and Stever’s reveal deep roots in Rochester’s confectionery traditions. Founded in 1917 by Andrew Sykut, Andy’s Candies touts multi-generation craft and handmade, small batch staples like its iconic sponge candy and chocolate assortments. Now with four locations across the Rochester area, Andy’s follows many of its original recipes, with the same care Sykut used on day one.
On Park Avenue, Stever’s Candies has produced fresh candies each day using original recipes since opening in 1946. The business maintains that its pure chocolates and candies gained popularity even during sugar rationing and wartime shortages. Today, Stever’s remains a local institution where “going to Stever’s” has become a multigenerational experience. These long-standing makers anchor the city’s taste for classic textures and flavors.
Creative Craft Grounded in Local Ingredients
While comforting staples like Andy’s and Stever’s honor the region’s sweet tooth for classic textures and tastes, Rochester’s chocolate landscape is defined by how artisan shops balance innovation with tradition. Core flavors anchor creative experimentation, allowing chocolatiers to delight the senses while satisfying devoted customers.
Hedonist Artisan Chocolates, a beloved South Wedge shop, focuses on small-batch, handmade confections driven by fresh ingredients, flavor, and seasonality. Owner Jennifer Posey says, “As Hedonists, we want to indulge all the senses. What better medium to do that than create hand-crafted, exquisite chocolates that taste superior.” To achieve that goal, they use old-world techniques and carefully sourced, superior ingredients without artificial flavors or preservatives to “create an obsession for artisan chocolates.” With vegan and dairy-free chocolates, bark, and drinking chocolate alongside salted caramels and truffle staples, Hedonist Artisan Chocolates offers a wide variety of flavors and combinations reflecting both human experience and chocolatier craft.
Laughing Gull Chocolates on East Main Street echoes the belief that eating chocolate should be an experience. The three momprenuer owners seek to “change the world with chocolate,” championing ethically sourced, handcrafted chocolate with a social mission. They explicitly commit to using local, transparently sourced ingredients, such as Joe Bean Coffee and Chai Guy chai in their coffee truffles, while building relationships that connect the finished chocolate back to the cacao supply chain.
Beyond “everyday” confections, including pure dark, coffee, chai, raspberry, spiced orange, and salted caramel truffles, Laughing Gull’s rotating seasonal items and sauces invite exploration. Founder Lindsay Tarnoff says their subscription box often includes new exclusive products that allow their creativity to shine even more. The trio’s Inspired by Rochester line includes specialty bars and bark, with sales benefitting local organizations, tying chocolate directly to community engagement.
Craft Methods Behind the Chocolate
Rochester’s chocolate expertise spans classic candy-making techniques and artisanal craft methods. Small-batch production underscores consistent, handcrafted quality. Quality and freshness, more than flashiness, define their chocolates and candies. Time-honored techniques maintain Stever’s and Andy’s confections.
Hedonist and Laughing Gull showcase modern craft through filled truffles, chocolate-dipped fruit and bark, drinking chocolate, and vegan bars. Laughing Gull touts handmade confections, bold flavor layering, and transparency in sourcing, alongside chocolate classes, tastings, and workshops to share their craft with the community. Founder Lindsay Tarnoff says their Highland Park truffles, featuring local magnolia and lilacs, and lilac-flavored chocolates are always a hit, adding that “Our chocolate is a disruptor in a way” with its unique texture and flavors.
Posey from Hedonist Artisan Chocolates says, “We value handmade because it is crafted in an environment of joy, honor, and respect, which cannot be duplicated, then, this craft is passed along to be enjoyed by the person it is given to.” Hedonist’s products often incorporate fresh dairy from Pittsford Farms, freshly roasted coffee beans from The Coffee Connection, fruit from Hurd Orchards, cheese from Lively Run Goat Dairy, paying close attention to how spices, zest, and other flavor elements interact with chocolate. Their approach balances originality with structure, reinforcing an artisanal mindset.
Connections and Collaborations Celebrate Community
A notable thread across Rochester’s chocolate makers is connection—to local businesses, regional ingredients, and community causes. Hedonist’s collaborations with Finger Lakes wineries and the Genesee Brewery expand the region’s culinary conversation, while partnerships with the Susan B. Anthony House and the National Women’s Hall of Fame help raise awareness of Western New York women’s heritage.
Laughing Gull’s values-driven mission aims to educate consumers about transparency and ethical sourcing. “The desire for good craft chocolate is growing, as is the desire for experiences,” Tarnoff says. Their classes, tastings, and chocolate experiences continue to draw people eager to learn more, reinforcing the shop as a community gathering space.
“It’s so exciting to see the network of Rochester chocolatiers, chocolate educators, and chocolate makers growing! We love to see the curiosity in our community. Chocolate is so diverse, versatile, and delicious, and we love being a part of this industry that is constantly growing and changing,” Tarnoff adds.
Rochester’s chocolate scene is a layered one: Historic candy-makers keep regional favorites alive while artisan chocolatiers experiment with local partners, vegan options, and seasonal flavors. The result is a city where a visitor can taste classic sponge candy, then step just around the corner to try a chai truffle made with locally roasted tea or pick up a beautifully boxed assortment to gift. Together, these makers reveal a community where flavor, craftsmanship, and local identity melt into every bite.